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IgnisAckerman
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Why is Sodium "Na"? Shouldn't it be called "So" or something like that? What is the process for deciding the abbreviations for elements?
Wikipedia said:Sodium is a chemical element with symbol Na (from Latin natrium)
I didn't want to Google it, because I know from experience that Wikipedia can be a dark and unknowledgeable site sometimes. I posted the question(s) here in hopes that someone would know more (or at least be able to explain it better) than whoever wrote the page on Wikipedia.DrClaude said:That's so easily googlable...For new elements, the naming is decided by IUPAC.
Wikipedia is not that bad, at least when simple facts are concerned. Googling would also have given you many references other than Wikipedia.IgnisAckerman said:I didn't want to Google it, because I know from experience that Wikipedia can be a dark and unknowledgeable site sometimes. I posted the question(s) here in hopes that someone would know more (or at least be able to explain it better) than whoever wrote the page on Wikipedia.
Not according to Merriam-Webster or the OED. Only "google" as a verb seems to be accepted.IgnisAckerman said:P.S. Is "googlable" an actual word yet?
It is nowIgnisAckerman said:P.S. Is "googlable" an actual word yet?
IgnisAckerman said:P.S. Is "googlable" an actual word yet?
I would add that this depends on which "modern language" you consider. The names are not the same in every language, the symbols are ( I hope).Janus said:There are a number of elements which have symbols that don't match up with their modern names, most derived from ancient names for them.
DrClaude said:That's so easily googlable...
Sodium's abbreviation "Na" comes from the Latin word "natrium", which is derived from the Greek word "nitrion". Both of these words refer to a naturally occurring compound called sodium carbonate, which was used in ancient times for various purposes, including making glass and as a preservative for food.
The symbol "Na" was chosen for sodium because it is the first letter of the element's Latin name "natrium". This follows the naming convention for elements, where the symbol is often derived from the element's name in either Latin or its country of discovery.
In the early 1800s, chemists began using symbols to represent elements in their experiments and research. The symbol "Na" was first used by chemist Humphry Davy in his work on isolating sodium. Over time, this symbol became widely adopted by other scientists and eventually became the standard abbreviation for sodium.
Yes, there are a few other elements with abbreviations that are derived from their Latin names. For example, potassium is abbreviated as "K" from its Latin name "kalium" and gold is abbreviated as "Au" from its Latin name "aurum". However, not all element symbols follow this convention, as some are derived from their English names (such as carbon, which is abbreviated as "C").
The capitalization of "Na" as the abbreviation for sodium is not significant. In fact, the symbol for an element can be either uppercase or lowercase, depending on the source or context. For example, "na" is also sometimes used as the abbreviation for the element sodium in chemical formulas or equations.